Pittsboro’s mayor and board of aldermen find themselves in quite the dilemma. They must purchase a brand new fire truck, or insurance rates for area property owners, including county government, will rise sharply.
Pittsboro’s current fire truck has maxed out its state-allowed certification. State law allows a 15-year certification for new fire trucks, after which a 5-year re-certification can be obtained.
“It doesnt matter how many miles or how much wear is on the truck. It’s technically no longer useful according to the rating bureaus,” Pittsboro Mayor Reda Bullard said. “Ours has just over 10,000 miles and is almost as good as when we got it, but we have no alternative. I believe the ratings bureau should make exceptions for smaller towns and counties. This is difficult for us.”
The result is the town, with a population of only 200, must buy a $200,000 fire truck to maintain its fire rating of eight. Without a certified truck, the town’s rating would likely jump to 10 and cause an estimated increase to local insurance rates of 15-35%.
“We have a lot of older citizens. We don’t have a lot of tax paying citizens,” Mayor Bullard said. “Any kind of added expense on them would be bad. Any increase will have a huge impact on Pittsboro.”
The county’s property insurance premium is more than $50,000 a year. That covers the courthouse, airport, sheriff’s department and other county-owned properties within the Pittsboro Fire Department’s jurisdiction. A 15-35% increase on that insurance could impact the entire county.
“We asked the supervisors for help on this because of the impact on the county, but they told us they couldn’t,” Mayor Bullard said. “You know that expense would get passed along to all county citizens.”
Pittsboro advertised for bids for a new truck and the lone one received was for $219,000 from Pierce. Fire Chief Gayle Bullard negotiated with Sunbelt, per state contract laws, and was able to get a price of $202,000.
The town has $70,000 in grant money to apply toward the cost, but is preparing to borrow and finance the rest.
“We will have to raise water rates,” Mayor Bullard said. “That’s the only revenue we have. We want to keep it as low as we can, but we have to do something to pay for this. The cost of not doing it would be even greater.”
Pittsboro isn’t alone in this scenario. Bruce, Calhoun City and Derma are in the market for new trucks, also.
Bruce recently sought quotes on purchasing a new truck this year. The estimates came in at approximately $300,000 for the kind of truck they would need.
After studying options, the board of aldermen ultimately voted to get both trucks recertified for another five years to allow more time for saving money to apply toward the eventual purchase.
Calhoun City is in the midst of their 5-year extension. Mayor J.R. Denton said they will likely have to order a new truck next year. Derma Fire Chief Shane Childs said they are in a similar situation.
Vardaman and Chickenbone have the newest trucks with a few years left on their original certification.
Each of the county’s fire departments get approximately $4,000 a year in fire rebate money, but that won’t go very far when it comes to purchasing a new truck.
“I believe the county should put at least a full mil on (the tax levy) for fire protection,” Calhoun Emergency Management Director Mike Dunagin said. “Fire trucks are incredibly expensive, and they’re only certified for 15 years. Then you can re-certify for five more, but that cost you, too.”
“That $300,000 for the fire truck doesn’t include the equipment that goes on it,” Dunagin said. “We have to meet the same standards as fire departments in New York City. We’re not dealing with Calhoun County or Mississippi standards, we’re required to meet U.S. standards.”
Local fire ratings are based on numerous factors including water storage levels, fireplugs, personnel numbers, training levels, fire truck and equipment certification and more.
County Fire Coordinator Chris Williams said Calhoun City is currently rated a seven by the state. Bruce, Pittsboro, Derma and Vardaman are all eights. Banner, Big Creek and Chickenbone are all 10s. Chickenbone is undergoing a review process that could drop it to an eight or nine, Williams said.
Sabougla, the county’s newest fire department, hasn’t been rated yet.
A rating of 10 nets a 5% discount to insurance rates for property owners within five miles of that fire department. The discounts grow larger with the lower rating.
That’s where Pittsboro sits weighing the cost of buying a new fire truck versus the impact on its citizens if they don’t.
“If we dont buy the new truck it will not only impact us but everybody in the county that pays taxes,” Mayor Bullard said. “We don’t really have a choice.”